ambient / drone
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What a lovely day it is today. The sun is shining. Outside it's cold but inside it's warm. The magpies and crows are having a serious argument about who is allowed to occupy the massive pine tree in the garden. Below, the robins, finches, blackbirds and tits are minding their own businesses, munching on the rotting apples that fell from their trees. Yet, even through all that activity, there is a sense of serenity in the air, certainly with the audible help from the gem I'm listening to right now.
Because, obviously, we're not here for an ornithology-lesson. We're here for an album review. That album comes from American sound sculptor Tristan McNeil and under his Nude With Lyre moniker. This album started as a soundtrack for a short film but eventually grew into the delightful full length I'm listening to right now. Built-up with soundscapes, processed voices, minimal percussion and sub basses, this thing is as varied as it is hypnotic and as old school as it is futuristic.
'Naked' opens the album with some interesting minimalism. Yet, for my taste, the mesmerizing track 'Purple' is the one that truly convinced me of the quality of the whole thing. The song reminds me a bit of Olafur Arnalds meets Bonobo meets Bersarin Quartett and that's huge plus. 'Climbing' is another nice piece of electronic ambient meets classical folk music before 'There' gives the whole thing a gloomy and dark atmosphere. 'Birds' seems to explore the regions of (dark) jazz and intelligent dance music. Like Autechre meets Dale Cooper meets Biosphere.
I'm going to leave the last four songs up to you, but I promise you that those too are well worth the effort. Fans of ambient music, from Eno to Hecker, will definitely find something they love on 'Blood'. Ok, I will mention that 'Pleasure' is a bit weird, but nonetheless beautiful and interesting. So yes, this one comes highly recommended, not only by me but also by both my significant other and our cat. The latter doesn't even care about the birds anymore.
Serge
Because, obviously, we're not here for an ornithology-lesson. We're here for an album review. That album comes from American sound sculptor Tristan McNeil and under his Nude With Lyre moniker. This album started as a soundtrack for a short film but eventually grew into the delightful full length I'm listening to right now. Built-up with soundscapes, processed voices, minimal percussion and sub basses, this thing is as varied as it is hypnotic and as old school as it is futuristic.
'Naked' opens the album with some interesting minimalism. Yet, for my taste, the mesmerizing track 'Purple' is the one that truly convinced me of the quality of the whole thing. The song reminds me a bit of Olafur Arnalds meets Bonobo meets Bersarin Quartett and that's huge plus. 'Climbing' is another nice piece of electronic ambient meets classical folk music before 'There' gives the whole thing a gloomy and dark atmosphere. 'Birds' seems to explore the regions of (dark) jazz and intelligent dance music. Like Autechre meets Dale Cooper meets Biosphere.
I'm going to leave the last four songs up to you, but I promise you that those too are well worth the effort. Fans of ambient music, from Eno to Hecker, will definitely find something they love on 'Blood'. Ok, I will mention that 'Pleasure' is a bit weird, but nonetheless beautiful and interesting. So yes, this one comes highly recommended, not only by me but also by both my significant other and our cat. The latter doesn't even care about the birds anymore.
Serge
